When Ferrari unveiled its first electric vehicle, the Luce, in May, the model was mocked widely online, in part because of its design, which was led by former Apple designer Jony Ive, whose work on the iPhone, iPad, and iMac made him one of the most influential industrial designers of his generation before he left Apple in 2019 to found LoveFrom. The criticism was intense enough to contribute to an 8% drop in Ferrari's shares in a single day. Even so, the company said this month that it had already reached its sales target.

According to the Financial Times, Ferrari had targeted sales of 500 units in 2026, suggesting that the company is on track toward its longer-term goal of selling 2,500 units of the $640,000 electric vehicle by 2030. At that price point, the Luce targets ultra-high-net-worth collectors in a segment largely insulated from the affordability pressures buffeting mass-market EV buyers. The pace is notable given the backlash that followed the Luce's debut in May.

Online users criticized the car's appearance, which came out of Ferrari's collaboration with Ive and his design firm LoveFrom. The Luce differs from many other Ferraris with its rounded surfaces, unusually large wheels and four-door layout, compared with the two-door format common across much of the brand's lineup. For a company whose identity has been built for nearly eight decades around the sound and feel of high-performance gasoline engines, the Luce represents an unusually visible bet on a future without internal combustion.

Luca di Montezemolo, who served as Ferrari's president and chairman for two decades, also criticized the model at its unveiling in May. He said he hoped "they take the prancing horse off that car, at least." He added in Italian, "This is definitely a car that, at least, the Chinese won't copy."

Ferrari has presented the Luce as a way to attract wealthy Chinese buyers and Silicon Valley customers who are already comfortable driving EVs. At the same time, the company has warned dealers not to pressure customers accustomed to Ferrari's gasoline-powered models into switching to electric vehicles, according to the Financial Times.

The sales update came after Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said on Thursday that he was "very pleased with how orders are proceeding," Reuters reported.

Falling EV sales

Ferrari's update stands out at a time when EV demand has weakened in the U.S., a market that accounts for about a quarter of the company's sales. After President Donald Trump eliminated the federal tax credit for EV purchases in September, new EV sales fell 49% month over month in October, according to Cox Automotive. Last month, new EV sales were down 28% from a year earlier and made up 5.4% of total new vehicle sales in the U.S., lower than in May, Cox Automotive said.

Other automakers have also pulled back on EV plans amid softer demand. Lamborghini, which is owned by Volkswagen through its subsidiary Audi, canceled its $300,000 Lanzador luxury EV in 2025. Its CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, said the market and customers were "not ready."

Ferrari itself reduced its EV ambitions in October, saying it would aim for 20% of its lineup to be fully electric by 2030, down from a previous target of 40%.

Even with the shift in its EV strategy, Ferrari reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results on Thursday. The company posted revenue of 1.94 billion euros, or $2.2 billion, for the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook to 7.6 billion euros, or $8.7 billion, from 7.5 billion euros, or $8.6 billion, previously. Vigna said the company's order book was already full through 2027.

Ferrari shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, were up 3% by Thursday afternoon after the earnings report.

"Ferrari rarely raises its guide in Q2, favoring instead to do so in Q3, and as such we view this a positive indicator for the remainder of the year and would expect shares to move higher," RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan told CNBC.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com